Eating Out

I have my ideas about eating out. I want to go out to have food that I would not necessarily cook at home. We don’t eat out that often, so it has to count.

For breakfast, I like a good croissant. (I’ve read how to make croissants and it would take me most of the day to make one). Or good hollandaise sauce over something.

In other words, not just eggs, toast and bacon. I can make that at home in about 5 minutes for about $1.50 max.

I also don’t want a bowl of oatmeal for $10. I don’t care what kind of fruit you put on it, it’s still a bowl of oats.

For other meals, I like ethnic food or creative cooking. I like to order something for which I do not have all the ingredients in my cupboard. Something I would not dream up on my own or know how to make.

We try to find a restaurant that meets the criteria.

Settled in, we peruse the menu. Two glasses of house wine cost what we typically spend on a bottle from a local liquor store. But, we’re out.

Do we order hors d’oeuvres? Will they be tiny or will they be huge? I don’t want to be full before my main course even comes.

We order our dinner and split a starter. Sometimes the starters are more interesting than the main meal. We enjoy our wine and hors d’oeuvres.

Dinner comes. Just when we are poised to take a first bite, the waitperson reappears. “How is everything?”

I want to say, “I have no idea. I haven’t gotten my fork to my mouth yet.”

But I say, “Good, thank you.”

And we do enjoy our meals. I enjoy something different – that I have not cooked and we do not have to clean up from afterwards. We enjoy the new taste combination and the relaxed time together.

Maybe we should do this more often. Or maybe not.